Thailand Eyes Purchase Of Gripen Fighters

[LaoPo]

Thailand Eyes Purchase of Gripen Fighters

Saab is playing down reports from Bangkok that Thailand’s military government has reached a decision in principle to purchase six JAS 39 Gripen fighters at a cost of $450 million.

Thailand’s interest in the Gripen dates to 2004, when the government of then-Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra came close to ordering 20 Gripens, according to a Ministry of Defense (MoD) source in Stockholm.

“There have been close contacts between Saab, senior Swedish government officials and Thailand since 2004,” the source said. “This situation hasn’t been changed by the military coup and overthrow of Thaksin Shinawatra in September 2006. It would appear from the latest reports emanating from Thailand’s government and Air Force that there may be good news for Saab and the Gripen already this year, although it must be said that nothing is at all certain at this stage.”

Thailand’s Ministry of Defense has maintained contacts with the Swedish government and Saab, the source added.

“Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s visit to Sweden in September 2004 was a significant moment in cementing close relations between Thailand and the Gripen,” the MoD source said. “Shinawatra told the then-Swedish prime minister, Göran Persson, that Thailand favored buying Gripen to replace its F-16s and F-5Es.

“The Stockholm visit was followed up by regular meetings between Swedish officials and their Thai counterparts. There were Gripen test flights arranged, and intergovernment talks on a bilateral agreement that would attach to any sale.”

The Shinawatra government appeared to lose some interest in the Gripen in 2005 and 2006, when the Ministry of Defense in Bangkok signaled that it might opt to purchase the Russian Su-30 Flanker fighters, produced by Sukhoi, for the Royal Thai Air Force.

“What seems clear is that the military government in Thailand will not purchase all the new fighters it needs at once,” a Stockholm-based defense analyst said. “The total figure being mentioned is 12 fighters instead of 20, and it’s likely that the first order will be for six aircraft.

The Thai Air Force’s present F-16s and F-5Es have been in service since the 1970s and are due to be taken out of service in 2008, so a decision on a replacement fighter is urgent.”

It is unlikely that the Thai government has reached a final decision on its fighter replacement program, the analyst said.

“The Thai Air Force’s replacement proposal cited the JAS Gripen 39, the F-18, the F-16, the Su-30 and the Dassault Rafale as possible options,” the analyst said.

Planes for Poultry?

“Given that the Thai government is cash-poor and wants massive budgetary cuts across government spending, the generosity of terms in industrial packages offered may well decide what fighter is chosen,” the analyst added. “Thailand might want to pay in farm produce. If the Gripen is to get a deal here, it may come down to agreeing a barter deal centered on poultry products.”

Gripen International, the Gripen’s development and marketing company, is reluctant to comment on reports of a possible Thai purchase deal.

“We have no concrete information now,” Gripen International spokesman Owe Wagermark said. “The Gripen has been of interest to Thailand before, but now we have no firm information.”

The Gripen is in service with the Swedish, Czech, Hungarian and South African air forces.

The Thailand MoD declined to confirm or deny that a contract may be signed with Saab.

“No decision has yet been taken on the supply side of the fighter replacement program,” and no exact timeframe exists regarding an announcement, the Thai Royal Air Force's commander, Chalit Phukphasuk, said in a statement. “All of the original candidate aircraft are still in the mix. We are under no pressure to choose the Su-30. Our review is ongoing.”

from: DefenseNews.com

LaoPo

[cdnvic]

Old news

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=129198

[Kerryd]

Awww, you beat me to it cdnvic !!

Air Force Likely To Opt For Swedish Jet Fighter, Multi-role Gripen favoured over SU-30

Sheesh, only 11 days old and it's buried about 4 pages deep already.

<snip>

I was just coming back to delete all that !

Edited July 16, 2007 by Kerryd
Please keep it to 47

[lazeeboy]

Awww, you beat me to it cdnvic !!

Air Force Likely To Opt For Swedish Jet Fighter, Multi-role Gripen favoured over SU-30

Sheesh, only 11 days old and it's buried about 4 pages deep already.

<snip>

I was just coming back to delete all that !

this thread sounded more interesting,i read this one and not the other one,maybe thats why its buried 4 pages deep ,no one else fancied it either

[LaoPo]

Old news

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=129198

Mea Culpa.

LaoPo